Mike Gwartney, Gov. Butch Otter's best friend and his right-hand man in his administration, serving without pay as the director of the Department of Administration, is retiring as of today, and his chief deputy, Teresa Luna, will take over his post on an interim basis. "He is retiring," confirmed Mark Warbis, Otter's communications director. "And Teresa is going to be the interim director at this point. She's taking over the day-to-day for now."

Jon Hanian, Otter's press secretary, said, "This has been in the works for quite a while. .... There is a process for someone permanent to be selected, but we're not going to rush that. ... We'll find the right person."